An Abundance of Pyramid Schemes

Have you ever wished that you could do away with the hassle of commuting and office politics and work from home using your computer? You might be a candidate for that type of career choice, but you should be aware of some important issues before you jump in head first.

Not every company or job-related website contains only legitimate offers, and increasing numbers of people have become frustrated after learning that they are actually asked to pay money just to start working online.

And the solicitations you receive in your email inbox tend to arrive quickly, but the money just never appears. Keep in mind that you should never be asked to pay for the privilege of working online. Additionally, you should be paid promptly for the work you do.

One recurring problem that always seems to be showing its ugly head is the pyramid scheme.

For example, you might receive an email invitation to join a particular program free of charge, and then have the opportunity to earn money from individuals who you sign up. This sounds like a great and easy way to make money.

In truth, for most people it turns out to be a nightmare. After you sign up, you’ll have to take some further action like “upgrade to a gold member” (or something similar) by buying certain products or books, regardless of whether you want or need them, and whether or not the products are actually good ones.

Once you buy the products, you are instructed you can now make money from those people who are under you in the set-up, but only once those individuals buy the products themselves. Now you’re in the midst of the “scheme” part of the pyramid scheme.

So, to make back twenty dollars, you might have to spend sixty or eighty dollars. And you might not even make back those twenty dollars, since there is no guarantee that anyone under you in the structure is going to buy anything.

So it seems like there are two choices: you could simply wait until your pyramid scheme disintegrates and you’ll learn a costly (but perhaps valuable) lesson, or you could stay away from the scheme entirely, and save your efforts for a legitimate way to earn money.

Yes, you can find jobs that will let you work from home!

There are companies out there which pay for the kinds of work you can do at home; you just have to know how to find them, and how to tell if those companies are on the level. One thing to remember is that legitimate companies already have people working for them, and you’ll be able to find a number of people who’ve had good experiences with that particular company.

With a little bit of searching, you’ll be able to find websites that give details and information about companies that offer genuine work at home opportunities.

Your first line of defense, however, should be to keep in mind the old adage that if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. And if it’s so easy to make money, why isn’t everyone doing it?

The advertisements you see and the emails you receive, all touting the newest get rich plan, are not going to contain all of the details or “fine print”. In fact, sometimes, after you sign up, you’ll receive additional emails or correspondence informing you when others are joining “under you”.

This information, even it it’s true, is the tease to try to get you to “upgrade” by buying the products they’re trying to sell. Remember that you’ll have to be counting on other people to buy as well before you’ll see any money.

Armed with this knowledge, it should be relatively easy to spot (and avoid!) these types of pyramid schemes.

If you look at programs that don’t promise lots of money for little or no work, then you’re much more likely to find legitimate opportunities for working at home.